David Eickhoff

Description

[syn. Caesalpinia kavaiensis] Uhiuhi Fabaceae Endemic to the Hawaiian Islands (Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Lānaʻi, West Maui [extinct?], Hawaiʻi) Endangered Oʻahu (Cultivated), Hawaiʻi Island form Early Hawaiians used the hard wood for digging tools (ʻōʻō), war clubs and daggers, prepping boards for kapa (lāʻau kahi wauke), kapa beaters, kalo (taro) cutters, spears for heʻe (octopus), fishing implements (lāʻau melomelo or lāʻau mākālei), and shark hooks (makau manō) fitted with bone points. This strong wood was also used in house (hale) construction for posts, rafters and purlins. The bark and young leaves pounded with other plants were pounded, squeezed and liquid taken to purify the blood. Uhiuhi, or māmane (Sophora chrysophylla), wood was also used for sled runners in a sport for the aristocrats called papa hōlua. The slopes were usually made with layers of grass or ti leaves. Notes the Huliheʻe Palace website: "The person about to slide gripped the sled by the right hand grip, ran a few yard to the starting place, grasped the other hand grip with the left hand, threw himself forward with all his strength, fell flat on the sled and slid down the hill. His hands held the handgrips and the feet were braced against the last cross piece on the rear portion of the sled. The sport was extremely dangerous as the sleds attained high speed running down hill. Much skill was necessary to keep an even balance and to keep from running off the slide or overturning the sled. In competitions, the sled that went the farthest, won." One older source (Charles Gaudichaud,1819) states that Hawaiians "used all fragrant plants, all flowers and even colored fruits" for lei making. The red or yellow were indicative of divine and chiefly rank; the purple flowers and fruit, or with fragrance, were associated with divinity. Because of their long-standing place in oral tradition, the flowers of uhiuhi were likely used for lei making by early Hawaiians, even though there are no written sources. NPH00002 nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Caesalpinia_kavaiensis